The 10 Best States For Making A Living

While the job market is still pretty weak, the truth is that conditions vary greatly from state to state. For example, in February 2011, the unemployment rate was 13.6 percent in Nevada, but only 3.7 percent in North Dakota.

On top of that MoneyRates found significant differences in a number of other job-related factors. It analyzed all of them and created a list of the best states for making a living.

Based on all these factors, MoneyRates.com calculated an adjusted-average income for each state - the average income adjusted for your chances of finding a job, how much you would lose to state taxes, and how much purchasing power that income would have based on the cost of living in that state. A ranking of these adjusted-average incomes is the basis for the following list of the top 10 states for making a living.